The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was carved in the mid-5th century bc by the Greek sculptor Phidias. The colossal statue was the central feature of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, the Greek sanctuary where the Olympic Games were held. It was considered to be Phidias’s masterpiece. The seated figure of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, was 12 m (40 ft) in height and made of ivory and gold. An earthquake probably leveled the temple in the 6th century ad, and the statue was later taken to Constantinople, where a fire destroyed it.
